A number of games have been devised which simulate the game of golf. Generally, these games require the use of a diagram or a number of diagrams representing the holes of the golf course, which generally include a tee, fairway, obstacles and a green. Advancement of the golf ball is generally determined by consulting chance means (usually dice and/or cards) and accompanying charts for determining the direction and/or distance of travel of the ball. For example, Morch (U.S. Pat. No. 1,758,581), Monek (U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,498), Breslow (U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,249), White (U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,065), Trimble (U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,985), Barbiaux et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,460) and LaRocca (U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,218) each teach golf games which require that the player consults charts to interpret the effect that the chance means result has on the play of the game.
Other games have circumvented the requirement of the use of charts through the use of diagrams. Lee (U.S. Pat. No. 1,529,598) provide letters on a map of a fairway which correspond to letters on the dice, combined with a system for advancement along the letters on the fairway. Boileau, (U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,339) and Feeney (U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,229) provide golf course game boards with diagrams representing fairways, various drive lengths on the fairways, bunkers, greens, and holes, for marking the position of the ball with game pieces after each chance means result. These games require the use of a game board and markers to mark the position of the ball between rolls of the dice by a player because the score for each hole is based on the number of dice rolls (or other chance means results) required to hole out. Unless a hole-in-one is obtained, multiple casts of the dice or multiple uses of another chance means are required to hole out.
All of the above-noted games require the use of a physical system of game boards, charts, or both for keeping track of the position of the ball from stroke to stroke. Diagrams and/or charts must be consulted throughout the game and compared against the results of the chance means in order to play the game. None of these games can be played using only their chance means. The requirement of diagrams or charts creates games which are less portable, and which require some amount of surface space to set up and play the game.
The requirement of charts and/or diagrams to generate a wide variety of possible outcomes and a wide range of probabilities may be a reflection of the wide variety of possible outcomes for any given shot in an actual game of golf. For example, from a drive shot alone, a ball may end up in a bunker or other hazard, may land on the green, may land on a fairway, and there is even a very slight chance of a hole-in-one. Some game developers have tried to develop games which reflect this wide range of possible outcomes with some adherence to the actual probability of the outcome in a real golf game. This is resulted in development of very complex games (see, for example, White; U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,065).
Where game developers have tried to devise games which are simpler, the games generally tend to either ignore possible outcomes for any given stroke, or introduce the probabilities into the game which are completely divorced from the real game of golf. For example, by use of LaRocca's game (U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,218), on a par 3, by consulting the charts, dice, and rules of the game, it can be calculated that a hole-in-one will result 1 out of every 8 drive shots, while a hole-in-one is not possible where the hole is not par 3. Lee's game (U.S. Pat. No. 1,529,598) does not provide for the possibility of a hole-in-one, and the number of strokes required may depend in part on the number of people playing the hole, unlike an actual golf game.